The Non-Communicable Diseases in Algeria: New Challenge for the Public Health

The article aims to make the link of causality between epidemiological transition and economic transition, which had led to the emergence of the non-communicable diseases. The communicable diseases have appreciably decreased, not only, thanks to the improvement of the living conditions and the sanitary cover, but also to the economic transition occurred in Algeria since 1990. The opening of the Algerian market on the international trade has contributed to this epidemiological transition.  

 At the same time, it noticed an increase of the weight of the non-communicable diseases (High blood pressure, diabetes). This improvement of the sanitary situation engendered a demographic transition which showed itself by modifications of the aspect of the population pyramid in which the proportion of the youngest populations knows a decrease while that of adults is in clear increase 15-59 years represent 64,4 % of the population (National institute of public health,   2005).

We leans on the reports of the Algerian Ministry of Health as well as two different studies, the one made by patient's association of the high blood pressure (survey SAHA), and the second realized by the National Institute of Statistics and Planning on the epidemiological transition and the health system in Algeria.

The results of all these studies inquiries and epidemiological studies show various determinants of these diseases, which are mainly known today namely: sedentary, food habits, tobacco, stress, showed the frequency of the chronic diseases. These determinants are directly connected to the lifestyle and to the behavior of the individuals,